Category Archives: The Story

My first Corvette was a beautiful, numbers matching 1971 Blue Roadster with a white top. A great car, but a 1971 car – without power brakes. A real head turner, but it drove you. It was one of the early Gen 3’s with chrome bumpers front and back, just a classic Corvette. But I decided I wanted a more updated car, something with power brakes and decent air conditioning 😉

My second Corvette was a 2001 Magnetic Red Metallic II Roadster. I put a lot of time and work in to making her a show car with speed. Mostly bolt on modifications, but enough to make me smile when I hit the gas. And it was nice enough to win a few car shows locally. Most of the work was completed with friends in my garage. Tinkering on my own car was and still is very satisfying. Unfortunately for that car, it was community property, and I wasn’t going to saw it in half….so it was sold.

My replacement Corvette was a 2004 Commemorative Lemans Blue Roadster. Have you noticed the convertible theme? I tinkered with replacing the audio system as I did with the 2001, and started some bolt on mods to the engine and a few exterior changes. But there was something a little too familiar about this new build – I had been here before, and I wasn’t exactly challenged. I wanted something else, a fresh canvas and something with a little more of a tough muscle car look… The Camaro was in my future.

My Harleys…….

As far as I am concerned, the base Harley has always been a platform for personalizing. Some have said with my Harleys I was a definite Chrome lover.

My first Harley was a 2003 Anniversary Edition Dyna Wide Glide. Loved that bike, a little rocket. I didn’t do a whole lot of work to her – just a few dress up add-ons, but no engine work. But I rode it every chance I had, including up and down the Tail of the Dragon.

My second Harley was a 2006 Street Glide. I wanted a bit of a break from the wind, so it was time for a bike with a front fairing. And I have to admit, it was nice having a stereo. I went with a flame and chrome look for the bike. I did do a few engine mods to pull a little more power out of her – just the usual engine stuff – a stage 2 95” big bore kit, a Screaming Eagle (SE) 211 cam, and a SE Race Tuner. Most of my Harley riding friends made similar mods on their bikes. Unfortunately, that bike went the way of the 2001 Corvette…

As a replacement to the 2006, I went out and picked up a 2007 Black Pearl Street Glide with a few mods for more horsepower. I wanted to go bigger and faster than the 2006 bike, so I went with SE 103″ kit, with HTCC Heads and Pistons, SE260 Cam, Thundermax w/autotune, Bassani True Duals, and of course lots of flames and chrome. She was a beast – and an amazing ride.

Yes, the Street Glides look very much the same. Very easy to do when you keep the parts list from the first bike 😉

Great memories…

And now, while I am finishing up my 1st Camaro, I am already considering the next venture… more to follow on that later. Let’s just say it won’t be your Granddaddy’s car.

I have been asked a few times, “What does the name mean? Why call your car Horsepower Therapy?” For me, it’s not simply a catchy phrase or a cool sounding name. My better half would tell you that my cars, and the current Camaro is no exception, have always provided me with the comfort of horsepower therapy. It’s what a car means and does for me. I can put it a little more simply – it’s fun to go fast and it’s fun to make stuff go faster.

I am a retired Army helicopter pilot and spent most of my 23 year career flying with the great soldiers and aviators of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. I love flying and I loved flying with the 160th. There is a reason it’s called Special Ops – accomplishing the mission often required pushing the envelope – or ignoring it altogether. The flying was exciting, cutting edge, tip of the spear, and yes… occasionally a little crazy, and crazy fun.

I was never one for peace and quiet, which is probably why I was attracted to flying in the first place. Looking back over my career, although I know I had other responsibilities, flying was the very best part of the job, and I quickly became accustomed to living and then thriving on adrenaline.

So what does a career pilot do when you are back home – and no 47 in sight? If you are me, and most of my buddies, your down time involves just as much speed as your up time. We come home and sooner or later we head for the garage to pull out our Harleys and muscle cars. Yep – typical “pilot” vehicles, built to show off our overflowing testosterone and type A++ personalities.

I usually had a Harley in the garage and a Corvette parked right next to it. But nothing was left stock. For me, stock was the starting point, the blank canvas. Add a little chrome, modify the stereo system or body panels. Make it mine, make it look better, and make it something special. And of course, make it go faster and faster and faster… Modify the intake system, modify the exhaust…let the engines breathe! Whether it was my motorcycles, or my cars… I always wanted to pull more and more horsepower out of them, however I could. I wanted to make these ground-based vehicles feel like flying.